Day of the Ventura
by BadgerLeopard
Summary: The Eighth Doctor and Liv are recovering from recent events when they arrive on the Ventura, a ship that's unfortunately got a Chromazoid infestation. Can the Doctor and Liv save the passengers onboard and stop the Ventura crashing into a very familiar planet?


**Day of the Ventura**

**Featuring the Eighth Doctor and Liv Chenka**

Junior Professor Orson Jackson opened the door to the science lab to see several green starfish creatures, all attached to the nuclear batteries. His eyes widened as he examined them closely: they had a large bulbous eye in the centre of their starfish-like forms and dozens of suckers kept it firmly attached to the battery.  
"Captain," he said into his walkie-talkie, "there's something in the lab which you might want to see."  
He put the comms device back in his pocket and tapped the starfish with his left index finger. However, he couldn't take it away. His finger was stuck to the starfish and he also felt something strange going on, as if he was changing into something else. His skin turned a similar shade of green as the starfish; his clothes were absorbed into his skin and vanished; his facial features and hair melted into his skin and a large, bulbous eye formed in the centre of his chest.  
He then walked out of the lab, straight towards the nearest collection of human life.

Half an hour later, a tall blue police box materialised in one of the many corridors onboard the Ventura. Two people then stepped out: one was a middle-aged man with short brown hair who wore a black leather jacket, white t-shirt, blue jeans and brown shoes, whilst the other was a young-ish woman with ginger hair who wore a white shirt, blue V-neck jumper and jeans.  
"And this is a holiday cruiser, is it?" Liv asked the Doctor, looking around her, "It doesn't look like one."  
"Perhaps that's because we've landed in one of the many corridors onboard this ship." he replied, deciding which way to walk and then walking off, "Come on. Let's see where the hustle and bustle is."

In the main hall, a group of passengers were huddled together, backing away from a green-skinned humanoid who had a featureless head and an eye in the centre of his chest. One person was firing a laser gun at it to try and repel it, but the creature healed its wounds quickly. The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, a slim golden tube of metal which had a blue crystal at its tip, and activated it at the humanoid. This drew it towards him, allowing the passengers to breathe a sigh of relief.  
"What is that thing?" Liv wondered, backing away from the creature.  
"A Chromazoid zombie." the Doctor explained, running around the room with the zombie following him, "It hunts energy and feeds off of it and that energy gets sent to the Chromazoid mind, which is probably somewhere on this ship."  
"Why don't we find that and destroy it then?"  
"Because if we're not careful, that zombie will drain the life force from both of us. Now I've had a very good idea."  
He activated the screwdriver at its highest frequency and hurled it at the central eye of the zombie. The sonic device hit the eye and made the zombie fall back in pain, becoming a thick green fluid and splashing onto the floor.  
The Doctor and Liv shared a look of relief and headed over to the passengers.

Having retrieved his sonic screwdriver, escorted the passengers outside the main hall and locked the doors leading into the hall, the Doctor and Liv decided to figure out what exactly was going on.  
"Everyone, everyone, listen. I'm the Doctor, this is Liv and we've discovered a Chromazoid zombie in that room there." the Doctor said, glancing at the hall through a window, "And what I want to know is this: has anything else bizarre happened recently?"  
"Yes." a young-ish blonde haired woman called Urina answered, "There was something in the lab. I can show you if you want."  
"That would be very useful. Liv, stay here with the others."  
"Sure." Liv replied, "What should I do if something happens?"  
"Then make sure that you stay alive."

The Doctor and Urina reached the lab after a long walk. The inside of the lab was truly horrifying: dozens of Chromazoids were attached to the nuclear battery, whilst several infant Chromazoids had begun to grow on several other pieces of equipment. Several Chromazoid zombies were stood close to each other in a circle in the corner of the room, hands linked together and green cords linking each zombie to a single starfish.  
"Things are spiralling out of control." he commented, sonicking the group of zombies and making them become green fluid.  
"Why are they here?" Urina asked him.  
"They're attracted to the nuclear battery. Any moment now it'll run out of power and this ship will crash on the nearest planet."  
He rushed over to a nearby computer panel and accessed the ship's location files. His hearts stopped when he saw the nearest planet: it was Kaldor. Liv's home. If he didn't save the ship, then everyone on Kaldor would die.

Elsewhere, Liv was watching the green puddle of fluid grow and expand slowly through a window. The puddle reformed into two green-skinned human beings: they were both two identical boys, dressed in tweed suits and brown leather shoes.  
"Let us out please, miss." one of the green boys cried, "Let us feed."  
"What the hell are they?" an old man called Tevvan wondered.  
"Something that wants to kill us. So we'd better move." Liv replied, before then yelling, "Run!"

The Doctor and Urina sprinted through the corridors of the ship, heading towards the main control deck. They somehow needed to turn the ship around so that it did not crash into Kaldor and then get every living civilian off the ship. Because that was the thing about Chromazoids: they couldn't be defeated. They can't die. They can't be injured. The Doctor had faced the Vashta Nerada, the Fendahl and the Daleks many times before, but the Chromazoids were able to feed off of those powerful beings. They could even feed off of Osirans.  
The Doctor and Urina eventually reached the control deck and he rushed over to a large computer pad and a steering wheel. He frantically spun the wheel round and reset the co-ordinates of the ship's destination.  
"There. That should prevent the ship from crashing on Kaldor," the Doctor said, "and now, we'd better see where Liv is."

Liv and the other passengers had congregated in the canteen, where dozens of food packs had been abandoned. Some of the survivors were gorging on whatever they could find, just as the Doctor and Urina arrived.  
"Listen everyone," the Doctor announced, "this ship was about to crash into a populated world but that tragedy has been avoided. Now, if you would all just follow me, I believe I can get you off this ship."  
The group eventually reached the TARDIS and all managed to enter the blue police box. After the Doctor had made sure that nobody else was outside, he activated the controls and the TARDIS dematerialised, its lamp flashing as it entered the Time Vortex.

The Doctor decided to drop the passengers off on Eykos, a colony world which had all the makings of a paradise. He and Liv said goodbye to the survivors of the Ventura, before re-entering the TARDIS.  
"You said the ship was going to crash into a planet," she asked him, as he set the co-ordinates for their next destination, "which planet was the ship going to crash into?"  
"It was Kaldor. But I turned it around because I knew how much guilt I would have to bear if I didn't do anything. You know, Liv, recently things haven't been easy. First Lucie and then Molly."  
"What are you trying to say?"  
"Thank you. For being there for me. Now, I fancy the plush lands of Florana Delta. How about you?"  
"Go for it."  
The TARDIS then whooshed through the Time Vortex, towards the paradise that was Florana Delta.

**THE END**


End file.
